Seal of Approval
by Ella Inspired
Summary: Tomoyo get's into Sakura's relationships a lot and is often the cause of breakups.So when Sakura meets and gets a proposal by Syaoran Li,will Tomoyo get in the way again or will Tomoyo give Syaoran the seal of approval?


**Seal of approval **

**By Ella Lavender**

_I don't own CCS _

_This story was posted some time back but I decided it needed some tweaking and editing because frankly after I reread it I felt embarrassed by my writing so ta-da! _

_Hope you enjoy _

(^^)

Sakura smiled indulgently as she listened to the animated ramblings of her cousin, Tomoyo.

It had been almost a year since they last saw each other and it was good to know that some things never changed.

Her dark haired cousin was still enthusiastic and full of energy, practically hyperactive even after a long flight from Milan. The auburn haired woman could only wonder how she did it as Sakura raised her mug of hot chocolate to her lips after an interested, "Ah" to answer the other woman's question.

It wasn't that she had no interest in the affairs of her cousin, but frankly seeing her again was rather bittersweet.

Not only was Tomoyo a bright light in the world of fashion, she was also releasing her first solo line since her internship with DG. During the entire year that Tomoyo had been away completing the once in a lifetime opportunity of working with the design gurus of the world, Sakura had been struggling to complete her English Major and working almost every hour that she wasn't awake in order to lessen the strain of her family's financial situation.

Not that Tomoyo knew any of that.

Sakura hadn't wanted her cousin's pity or help, the latter having left her more bruised and broken then she was before.

"So, what do you think? Isn't it stunning?"

Blinking her eyes of liquid emerald, the auburn haired woman nodded, glancing at the sketch book the midnight haired beauty had placed before her. A beautiful dress with a fitting bodice that later flowed beautifully onto the floor; it was strapless and timelessly exquisite; the perfect dress for the perfect girl. "Un. It's amazing Tomoyo-chan, is it going to be in your fashion line?"

"But of course my beautiful cousin and you shall be the first to wear it!"

"Hoe?"

Tomoyo grinned excitedly and nodded with a small giggle. "But of course. Remember those high school days when I used to design those cute outfits for you? Well now I'm certifiably awesome and you're going to look like the belle of the ball in this number!"

"But where would I wear it?"

"At that big company party for your promotion," she said, stars twinkling in her eyes as she envisioned the combined beauty of her emerald eyed cousin and the dress she'd been working on for over a month during her preparation to return home.

No one deserved such a beautiful dress more than her cousin.

Despite not sharing the hardships of her life with her beloved relative and best friend, Sakura had told Tomoyo everything else. How she'd managed to work all the way to the top of Tokoyo's biggest magazine company once her Major was complete, and how her big promotion would soon earn her the spot of Editor in Chief. Sakura had struggled and worked countless hours, days, weeks and months to gain the attention of the boss and finally she was getting her dues.

"Ne, it's not necessary Tomoyo-chan, it looks to elegant for someone like me."

Compared to her successful fashion designer best friend with her curtain of black silk, her porcelain pale skin and eyes of liquid amethyst as well as the grace and confident air that surrounded her, Sakura felt quite insecure.

After all, every man that ever came into her life always left for the better looking cousin.

Tomoyo's brilliant smile dimmed slightly with the thought: She still doesn't believe.

"So how is Touya?" The midnight haired beauty decided to ask, seeing the way the deep jade eyes of her best friend were downcast and darkening with an unexplained sadness, anger and anxiety.

At the mention of her older brother however, she managed a smile and replied, "Oh he's fine. He and Kaho are enjoying married life, though considering all the pointless arguments they sometimes have it isn't always rosy, but they're having a kid pretty soon."

At the mention of this, Tomoyo brightened again, "Ohohoho that's so kawaii! How far along is she, does she know if its going to be a boy or girl? Oh! Or twins! That would be like, major kawaii!"

"About four months in and Touya's paying the price," Sakura said with a laugh, remembering the phone call with her older brother just this morning.

Her protective older brother sounded frantic and panicked; in the background Sakura could make out Kaho's voice threatening a number of very violent things if her _dear, beloved _husband didn't get her the seaweed pancakes and the tuna-fish ice-cream like she demanded.

Tomoyo nodded understandingly. "Ah yes, the disgusting cravings, horrible things those are. One of the supermodels got pregnant a few months ago, her football playing husband never saw it coming."

The auburn haired woman grinned. "Yep, and Touya swears he will never have kids again, but I highly doubt that. He's had the baby's room fixed up since Kaho told him and I'm pretty sure he's got the baby's sonogram in his wallet."

"Already thinking like a father I see," her friend said with a giggle, "putting pictures of his kids where his money once was."

Tracing the rim of the cup and smiling at the truth behind those words, Sakura asked, "So how was your trip to Milan?"

Tomoyo gave her a lazy half smile and answered, "Well you know, same old same old. It was a really boring without you around Sakura."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Sakura picked her cup up in both hands and said, "I doubt that, Tomoyo, I mean, it's Milan. How's that Italian stallion you were telling me about?"

"Oh him, no we weren't right for each other. His ego was too big for my tastes and I guess he just thought of me as something new to try."

"That's disappointing, I'm sorry Tomoyo. I mean, you were with him for a month which is a real record on your part." Being beautiful and successful obviously had its perks which her cousin took full advantage of when her work schedule allowed.

She laughed again. "I know right? But what can you do, it just wasn't in the cards. And what about you have you met Prince Charming yet?"

The auburn haired woman released the breath she was holding almost the entire time that she'd been with her cousin. It was her own fault really, for bringing up significant others. "Well yeah…something like that…"

"And?" Tomoyo asked with interest, taking a sip of her own mug.

"And, we've been going steady for almost eight months now."

Nodding to herself, Tomoyo examined Sakura from the rim of her cup. "Mmmhmm…go on…"

Though the two talked often during their year of separation, Sakura kept that part of her life along with the initial struggle to herself. Her cousin had caused too much trouble in that aspect of her life and she wasn't willing to put something like her pride or her love on the line. Sakura was really quite a fragile soul. For her own flesh and blood to ruin the greatest thing in her life would be agonizing of that Tomoyo knew, and it saddened her to think that protecting her best friend would mean hurting her too.

Being urged to continue in the retelling of this mystery man by the raised brows of Tomoyo, Sakura took a deep breath and prepared for the worse.

"And, he proposed."

As expected, Tomoyo almost chocked on her drink and began hitting her chest a little with her fist.

Sakura's breath was shaky and hoped that Tomoyo could forgive her.

Once her cousin recovered from the shock at the news, she gave Sakura an incredulous look. "When did he do it?"

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she answered, "He asked me a month ago actually…"

"When were you going to tell me?" It wasn't accusatory but was asked in shock.

The two women were like twins, they knew more about each other than they knew of themselves. Though Tomoyo was aware of how much hurt she'd forced her cousin through, she never thought that the pain of insignificant heartbreaks would lead to the omission of arguably, the most important thing in Sakura's life.

"I…you were busy, I was going to tell you Tomoyo honest." '_But I was too afraid that you'd take him too,' _She added in her head, giving her amethyst eyed cousin an apologetic smile.

The woman that sat across from her tried to rewire her brain fast enough that an awkward silence would not ensue. Tomoyo couldn't afford to miss out on any information about this man, it was completely vital to the both of them. "Well considering you haven't told me much about this guy for over eight months and then leave out the part where he proposed to you in seventh, tell me about him!"

Smiling a little, Sakura began the detail of her soon-to-be husband, "Well, he's name is Syaoran Li, he works as a bartender at Golden Guardian and he's the best man I could ever ask for."

_'And hopefully will be the best man for you to marry,' _Tomoyo thought, offering a kind smile. "A bartender?"

Sakura nodded and said, "He's the owner of the place, pretty well off even without the Golden Guardian."

"Really?" Tomoyo asked intrigued and hungry for more knowledge on the mystery man.

"Yeah, he's from the famed Li clan, he's the heir to his mother's company and empire, but he's working because he feels the need to do something other than waste his time lazing around," she said with a loving smile. Her little wolf always had to be doing something; it was part of his many charms. Being idle wasn't part of his DNA.

"Huh, I thought the Li clan was in Hong Kong."

"Well yes, he moved here about a week after you left for Milan and I met him at Penguin Park."

"Wow an outdoorsy person, that's impressive considering the heirs of clans are usually always at leisure on their private yachts or hiding out in their plush offices."

"Not my Syaoran, he was going for a run."

"And you were exercising too?" She asked in surprise. Her cousin wasn't the most athletic person on the plane nor was she the most coordinated. Sakura's many visits to the hospitals due to many missteps and natural klutziness would gain the attention of people who thought she was suffering from an abusive relationship.

The green eyed woman laughed sheepishly. "Actually I was running after my scarf and it landed in the branches of a tree so I climbed up to fetch it and then forgot how to climb back down…"

Tomoyo groaned. "Oh Sakura, you didn't…you weren't injured were you?"

"No…Syaoron kind of broke my fall…"

"Ouch…well at least that whole 'Did it hurt when you fell from heaven' line worked ne?"

A deep crimson flush fanned at the auburn woman's face. "It was so embarrassing…and it didn't help that he was an ass the first time I met him. He yelled at me about climbing trees and then falling on innocent people, though I wasn't listening because I got cut across my arm and I fainted as soon as I saw the blood." She traced her left arm almost unconsciously and smiled down at the table. "I woke up in the hospital with stitches on my arm, the nurse said Syaoran carried me there…"

A silence stretched as she remembered everything else following their impromptu meeting.

"I didn't think I'd see him again after that, he didn't leave any contact details with the nurse so I was kind of sad that I wouldn't be able to thank him."

"But you did see him again," Tomoyo trailed in a whisper, leaning forward as if to catch the magic that danced behind her friend's eyes.

Sakura felt the smile as she recalled, "Yeah…I was working as a receptionist at the magazine company at the time and two weeks later, I was told that I was promoted to personal assistant to Mei-ling Li."

"His cousin?"

"Mmhm," she answered with a nod, "three days later, I had to amuse a relative of hers while she was at a meeting and I thought by relative, she meant like a kid relative. Mei-ling talked about Syaoran as if he was an adorable baby with the cutest habits on the face of the planet, and instead of that, I get a frowning, gruff and annoyed twenty-six year old. Everything pretty much snowballed from there…and the rest was history."

"Aw that's so sweet!" Tomoyo swooned. "Do you have any pictures?"

Of course, it was her beloved Syaoran. Digging in her pocket for her phone, Sakura searched the various albums of pictures and found the ones containing her fiancé.

Handing the phone to her cousin, Tomoyo was met by intense amber eyes and messy chocolate brown hair, Syaoran was definitely a looker. Each picture in the phone was of the two together, he never smiled openly but it was obvious that he was happy with the woman that he almost constantly had his arm around. But it was a bit of puzzle for Tomoyo. This guy looked like a serious heartbreaker; she wondered how this guy really worked.

She handed the phone back to her cousin and smiled.

"He's definitely much better then all those scum bags you dated in high school," Tomoyo concluded.

The other woman sighed and nodded. "Yeah, he's one of a kind."

"I hope he is, because I don't want you to get your heart broken again."

"Half of it is because of you," Sakura couldn't help but remind her.

The amethyst eyed beauty, sighed softly. "I'm sorry Sakura, but…every time you had a boyfriend, it's just that…"

Her companion shook her head and finished Tomoyo's sentence, "you always felt the need to take him away from me, I get it."

There was an awkward silence between the two and Tomoyo spoke, "I…I did."

"I know that I'm not the prettiest girl around, I'm also not the most interesting. But…you didn't to prove it," Sakura whispered more to herself then to Tomoyo.

"He choose me," Sakura said louder, making Tomoyo look at Sakura with an apologetic look in her eyes. "He choose me, not a supermodel, amethyst eyed goddess like you. He choose me Tomoyo and, I love him."

All the years at high school were filled with intense pain for Sakura and to think it came from her best friend too.

Tomoyo's intentions were good as she always said and no matter how many times Sakura was heartbroken because of her cousin's actions, she would always stay by Tomoyo's side and Tomoyo would always stay on her's wouldn't she?

Five boyfriends left because of Tomoyo, five men that weren't good enough that weren't right because they fell for the challenge that Tomoyo presented.

To every guy Tomoyo was the unattainable beauty, a condruim, a treasure waiting to be opened. But the key was getting close, and that key was Sakura.

A flash of those amber eyes made her brow crease. Those amber eyes that held just as much secret as Tomoyo's. She wouldn't present herself to him as a challenge, she wasn't going to do what she always did because this man was loved by her cousin, her dearest friend and her closest confident.

But wasn't that all the more reason?

(^^)

Tomoyo straightened her cocktail midnight blue dress, brushed away the strands of hair that escaped her perfect spiral ponytail and took a breath before glancing through the door of the Golden Guardian.

She pushed away the almost sickening lurch of her stomach as she caught sight of the bartender.

This had to be done. No turning back.

Straightening her back and entering the high class looking bar with a seductive swagger, she couldn't help noticing the looks of lust from the men and looks of extreme jealously from the women, at that Tomoyo couldn't help but release a light, delicate laugh that entranced whoever was in range to hear it.

The romantic music drifting throughout the bar was simply the background to her entrance as her stiletto heels clicked on the polished floors of the Golden Guardian.

A smile danced on her salmon pink lips as she recognized the man in the picture behind the counter.

Unlike the other men in the bar, he wasn't paying attention to her. Syaoran Li was busy wiping a wet glass with a cloth. He glanced at an object just underneath the counter that seemed to put him in a good mood at least according to the smile tugging at his pouty looking lips.

Even from across the counter and dressed in casual jeans and a button-down shirt, the fashion designer could see that the young man was cut. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to show off the toned forearms and the enticing way the piece of clothing seemed to ripple at his most mundane movements gave him the look of someone to attractive to belong to just any girl.

Tomoyo walked confidently towards the counter, and took a seat on the stool directly in front of him.

She cleared her throat to her his attention. Tomoyo didn't get it."Um excuse me?"

Syaoran glanced at her briefly, the delicious looking smile on his lips suddenly replaced by a frown. "How can I help you?"

Tomoyo tried not to openly frown at the lack of attention she was receiving because she honestly wasn't used to it, but said, "Sorry, but I was wondering if you could help me out?"

He cleared his throat, put the glass down and asked, "And what would that be Miss?"

"Well, I'm new around here and I'm sort of looking for DeCasta? Have you heard of it?"

Syaoran nodded and said, "Yes, it's across from Penguin Park."

"Oh thank you," Tomoyo said, nodding and standing up a little clumsily and almost falling.

Somehow Syaoran was on the other side of the counter and was holding her steady by the arm. Putting on the most pitiful looking face Tomoyo could muster she said, "Oh I'm so sorry! I'm not feeling well right now…"

"I can call you a cab, where do you live?"

"Oh no, I have to go to DeCasta, and like you said it's just across the park, taking a cab would be too much trouble," she trailed with a dramatically pathetic sigh.

Syaoran looked worried and asked, "Do you think you're well enough to walk across Penguin Park? It is pretty big."

"Oh no…I'll be fine…thank you for being so kind…" Tomoyo said, giving him the sweetest smile she had in her arsenal.

"Hold on…" Syaoran said, walking around the bar table, grabbed his jacket and the thing that he was looking at (which was his cell phone, Tomoyo caught the picture of Sakura on it and couldn't help but coo at it) "Come on, I'll walk you across there, it's dangerous at night you know."

Tomoyo smiled, grabbed his arm and walked closely beside him.

(^^)

"Thank you so much for getting me safely through the park," Tomoyo said, touching Syaoran's arm and smiling at him intimately, her eyes a smoldering pool of mysterious amethyst.

He gave a curt nod, subtly pulling away from her hold. "No problem Miss."

"Would you like to come inside? DeCasta owes me a room," she trailed suggestively, giving the amber eyed young man a hooded look that got almost every other man falling at her feet and begging her to take them.

Syaoran mentally winced. DeCasta was some kind of lovers' hotel and there was no way he was going in there with someone that wasn't his fiancée.

"No, I'm engaged," He answered gruffly, prying his arm away from Tomoyo's grasp once she reached for him again.

This caused her to pouted. "Well then, it's your last chance to enjoy freedom no? Who better then with a girl like me? Surely you can spare one night, after all, she'll never know."

His glare was terrifying. "No way, I love my girl, there's no way in hell I would do that to her."

"Aw really? Then you led me on?" A lie; even on Tomoyo's part. Syaoran didn't do anything to lead her on, in fact all his actions were trying to say politely that he was taken, but Tomoyo wanted to see how far she had to go. She had to make sure that Syaoran wouldn't be like the other guys who claimed to love Sakura, all of whom in the past, had immediately dropped their pants at the dark haired beauty's suggestions.

Syaoran scowled and said, "I didn't lead you on lady! Geez, I'm taken, I'm getting married! You're welcome for the walk and all, but no way am I going to that place!"

"Well there are other places we can have fun, I don't mind if you're the kind of guy who likes having it out on the backseat, or hell, even on that bench over there. You seem like too much of a man for whoever this girl is, I bet she won't be able to do what I do," Tomoyo urged, her words causing Syaoran to get angrier.

"For the love of—Listen here you, I was just being a gentleman! I told you that I love my fiancée and there's no way I'm cheating on her alright? Now leave me alone already!"

Tomoyo grabbed his arm before he got a chance to walk off. He was just about ready to yell at her when Tomoyo grabbed his hand and shook it with both of her hands, the seductive aura she'd taken and vulgarity of her previous words disappeared with the genuinely excited smile on her face. "Congrats buddy!"

"What?"

When he looked at her in confusion, a pair of green eyes from over her shoulder caught his attention. Syaoran immediately realized the implications of being seen with an undeniably attractive woman in front of a lovers' hotel and reacted accordingly. Pushing past Tomoyo, he reached for his auburn haired fiancée.

"Baby I swear this doesn't mean what it looks like!"

Sakura giggled and said, "I know babe, I know, I sort of planned it. This is my best friend Tomoyo."

"What?" He asked in confusion, looking back at the woman he'd pushed away.

Tomoyo grinned and said with a wave, "Yep, sorry about all that. But I'm your fiancée's best friend and cousin, and dude I better be the bridesmaid!" She sent a look at Sakura who just laughed and reached up to kiss Syaoran's cheek.

"Huh? Could someone explain this to me, I'm lost."

"Oh well, that's simple! Sakura-chan over here, wanted me to try and seduce you!"

"….still lost," Syaoran said looking back to see a smiling Sakura.

"Aw babe I'm sorry you had to go through that. But you know how insecure I am. I wanted…I wanted reassurance that you were the right one, that you wouldn't be swayed by extremely beautiful woman," Sakura said quietly, giving him a shy smile.

He rolled his eyes. "I've told you hundreds of times. You're the only extremely beautiful woman I could ever be swayed by…"

"Aw," Tomoyo cooed. "See, told you Saku! There was no need to test this guy! He's got my seal of approval!"

"I know," Sakura said with a giggle as she pecked Syaoran on the lips lightly.

"But why use her, Sakura?" Syaoran couldn't help but ask.

"Oh that's easy, Tomoyo used to do this to each of my boyfriends in high school…if they couldn't handle resisting Tomoyo, then they weren't the right guy for me," Sakura explained.

Tomoyo nodded in agreement. "All of them fell pretty fast for it, but you! Dude, you are the first guy that's ever passed that test, with flying colors no less! That's like solar eclipse freaky!"

Syaoran shrugged and said, "That proves I love her."

"Yes it does! Now time for the real big question!" Tomoyo proclaimed, getting both Syaoran and Sakura to look at her confused.

"I thought that it was only a test?"

"It was," Tomoyo said nodding.

"Then?" Sakura asked confused.

The amethyst eyed beauty laughed and looked at Syaoran with serious eyes.

"You don't happen to have a single brother do you?"

**FINIS**

**My first one-shot for CCS, hope you guys enjoyed. **

**Thanks for reading!**

Ella


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